EAST MARDEN SMALLBORE RIFLE CLUB

In the early 1930s, four or five members of Torrens Valley shot with the City and Suburban Miniature Club (.22 rifle) using the Kensington Drill Hall as their headquarters......In 1936 the Miniature Union went into recess from lack of members and suitable ranges. Big-bore shooting was stopped in mid-June 1940 due to the War.

There was a monthly competition with teams of four at 25 yards shot postally. The only ammunition available came through the Army and was of such dubious quality that a rod was kept on the mound to push stuck bullets out of the barrel. Rifles were also very scarce as most had been commandeered by the Government. When a match was due, the Torrens Valley shooters usually set up the targets on the bigbore range at Athelstone but on some occasions in the driveway of Hub McShane’s house in McShane Street, Campbelltown (the street was named after his father, one of the area’s pioneers). Hub McShane was also a good shot, winning the Club Championship for five successive years in 1946 to 1950, a feat not to be repeated for 30 years.

In 1944, Arnold Hobbs, another descendant of pioneers, came up with a suggestion to approach the Wilton brothers, then owners of the land of the present East Marden range, with a view to renting the land and setting up a 25 yard smallbore range. The Hobbs family and then Wiltons had used the river bank as a sand quarry and as a result had excavated a more or less level area, with the bank below a masonry walled celery shed making a suitable backstop.

The next step was to construct the club house and a 25 foot shed was erected using donations and voluntary labour. Timber-framed and covered with asbestos cement sheeting it was painted green, daffodils were planted alongside and the vandals started on it.

By September 1956 the Club had progressed sufficiently that some rumblings of discontent were coming from Torrens Valley .303 Club, inferring that the smallbore club was taking members from them. A breakaway ensued and to achieve a completely separate identity the club name was changed to that of the suburb. Thus, on the 3rd September 1956, the club was no longer Torrens Valley Miniature Rifle Club but became East Marden Small Bore Rifle Club.

In 1963, and tired of lying out in the open at all distances and in all weathers while the target remained at the backstop, the Club embarked on a major project. Keith Pym was able to achieve the Club’s purchase of “Bldg 11” from Keswick Barracks. It was an Army barrack from the time of the First World War, strongly built and covered in Kalsomine. Members dismantled it fairly promptly and Ron Hannaford then transported many loads on his truck. The Club suspended shooting for seven months and the hut was rebuilt into a covered firing point on the old 75 yard mound and eventually painted inside with even more Kalsomine. Shooters remained under cover while the targets moved to the various distances. Behind the new building 100 yards was available from an extra firing mound, with shooting occurring ingeniously through opening panels at the back of the firing point

There was another welcome development in 1964 when a beefy, gentle, quiet Estonian named Juri Tiivas joined the Club. He had been shooting at the Dean Range, Port Adelaide, with some of his countrymen and, on his recommendation, their whole group of ten members came to us. Traditionally good shooters and hard drin

kers, they were also thorough gentlemen and useful members. Sound friendships developed and lazy “Aussiefied” versions of their names were discarded. Range commands were sometimes given in Estonian and the potbelly stove stoker became a “tuulemeister”!

The range was now starting to look pretty good and on 3 February 1965, £13 was spent and a concrete mound was laid and then covered with rubber underlay. This was despite the doom merchants claiming it was a waste of time as there had long existed a rumour that a transport corridor was planned to come along the river at any time.

Prompted by the rumours, it was suggested that the Club should attempt to purchase the land, the supposition being that, if evicted, an owner would be compensated, a tenant homeless or a mortgagee somewhere in between.

Fortunately, like many other Government ideas, this plan fell by the wayside and in 1975 moves toward ownership were again instituted. By this time Alf’s son, Jim, had inherited. He was approached and was immediately interested as he had also just become aware that he was paying rates for the land the range occupied and getting nothing for it. Surprisingly, it was already on a separate title and had been since the 1800s. There had been no need for the caution!

A price of $9,000 was agreed upon, calculated on the basis of the range block being twice the size of a building site in James Street offered at the same price. The Club was told the news and, not happy to be committed to financial responsibility, the Captain eventually resigned in protest. Two or three optional possible sites were inspected which had no potential and the Club set foot on the path to ownership.

An initial payment was made in July 1976, Jim Pierson having very generously continued his goodwill by agreeing to time-payment. Five members also went guarantor on the payments and paid double membership fees for some years until the purchase was complete. In 1982, the whole debt was finalised. With the adjustments and fees the Club had paid $10,250 in total and were now freeholders.

In 1988 the five shareholder members who had guaranteed the land purchase agreed to relinquish any claims of moral advantage attaching to theoretical ownership of the land and accepted the reimbursement of extra funds that they had contributed.

The next fifteen years could be fairly described as a period of stagnation. Membership numbers remained quite low and averaged less than double figures, election of officers at Annual General Meetings frequently consisted of the Chairman asking if anyone wanted to stand down and immediately thanking everyone for not doing so.

Several attempts have been made to promote air-rifle competition in the Club. This form of shooting obviously has a future: although somewhat challenging, the advantages are simplicity of the standing position and the economy of ammunition. John Donaldson, a local plumber and long-time member, tried for a while to encourage shooters to have a go, but this gradually faded out. In the 1990s a renewed effort was made with David MacFarlane, Terry Ireland and Sue MacFarlane competing on Friday nights. (Sue had been dragged into it when the others had attended the Masters’ Games in Geelong.) East Marden competed for a year or two in the Association’s Air Rifle Night Teams competition before these three musketeers joined Morialta to shoot in the relative comfort of the Morialta High School gymnasium.

The first years of the new century saw the emergence of several very favourable developments.

Firstly, the Government firmed on their plans for the adjoining Lochiel Park which, although bringing civilisation even closer to our doorstep.

Secondly, we were blessed with the return to the Club of a member from the 1970s who was to take matters by the ears and revolutionise us. Ron Maine can only be described as dynamic and provided the impetus that was needed. Various improvements started to develop to tidy up our ramshackle surrounds.

In 2004, the Club introduced some rickety benches (since replaced by more substantial structures) to enable members who were not able to cope with the prone position to continue shooting bench rest competition. Meanwhile, and very opportunely, in February 2004 an approach was made by Hutchison Telecommunications with a proposal to erect a transmission pole on the property, co-incidentally on the area of “no man’s land” in the land purchase. Almost all the eyes in the membership glittered and despite the usual hassles and objections, within twelve months the pole was there and a substantial income, hopefully for the next 25 years, has started to flow. With these funds, a loan from the State Association, and then a grant from the State Government.

East Marden has been metamorphosed into a superb modern 50 metre range equal to any Club facility in the country. The new firing point was declared open on the 9th August 2006 and named the “Ireland Range” in recognition of Terry and Sandra Ireland’s (nee Lawson) support for the Club over the years and their shooting prowess.

There remains plenty to add but the future looks most optimistic. Membership has returned to over twenty, the Pistol Club hole has been filled in, the pepper tree is still growing, our image should stand us well with future neighbours and the Captain hasn’t resigned!